Enter Agamemnon.

Aga. Renew, renew!

Hath beat down Menon;
Hath Doreus prisoner;

The fierce Polydamas

baftard Margarelon

And ftands Coloffus-wife, waving his beam
Upon the pafhed coarfes of the kings,
Epiftrophus and Cedus. Polyxenus is flain;
Amphimachus and Thoas deadly hurt;
Patroclus ta'en or flain; and Palamedes
Sore hurt and bruis'd: 2 the dreadful fagittary
Appals our numbers: hafte we, Diomed,
To reinforcement, or we perish all.

Enter Neftor.

Neft. Go, bear Patroclus' body to Achilles; And bid the fnail-pac'd Ajax arm for fhame.. There are a thousand Hectors in the field:

I

baftard Margarelon] The introduction of a bastard fon of Priam, under the name of Margarelon, is one of the circumftances taken from the story book of The Three Destructions of Troy. THEOBALD.

The circumftance was taken from Lidgate, page 194.

"Which when the valiant knight, Margarelon,
"One of king Priam's baftard children," &c.

STEEVENS.

the dreadful fagittary Appals our numbers:- "Beyonde the royalme of "Amafonne came an auncyent kynge, wyfe and dyfcreete, "named Epyftrophus, and brought a M. knyghtes, and a mervaylloufe befte that was called SAGITTARYE, that behynde the myddes was an horfe, and to fore, a man: this befte was heery lyke an horfe, and had his eyen rede as a "cole, and fhotte well with a bowe: this befte made the Grekes fore aferde, and flewe many of them with his bowe." The Three Deftructions of Troy, printed by Caxton. THEOBALD.

the dreadful fagittary] A very circumftantial account of this fagittary is likewife to be found in Lidgate, page 174.

STEEVENS.

Now,

Now, here he fights 3 on Galathe his horse,
And there lacks work; anon, 'he's there a-foot,
And there they fly or die, like 4 scaled fculls
Before the belching whales; then is he yonder,
And there 5 the ftrawy Greeks, ripe for his edge,
Fall down before him, like the mower's fwath:
Here, there, and every where, he leaves and takes ;
Dexterity fo obeying appetite

That what he will, he does; and does fo much,
That proof is call'd impoffibility.

Enter Ulyffes.

Ulyff. Oh, courage, courage, princes! great Achilles Is arming, weeping, curfing, vowing vengeance: Patroclus' wounds have rouz'd his drowfy blood, Together with his mangled Myrmidons,

That nofelefs, handlefs, hackt and chipt, come to him,
Crying on Hector. Ajax hath lost a friend,
And foams at mouth, and he is arm'd and at it,
Roaring for Troilus, who hath done to-day
Mad and fantastic execution;

Engaging and redeeming of himself,

With fuch a careless force, and forcelefs care,
As if that luck in very spite of cunning
Bade him win all.

3

on Galathe his horse,] From The Three Deftructions of Troy is taken this name given to Hector's horfe. THEOBALD. "Cal'd Galathe (the which is faid to have been "The goodlieft horfe," &c. Lidgate, page 142. Again, page 175.

And fought, by all the means he could, to take "Galathe, Hector's horfe," &c. STEEVENS.

fealed feulls] Sculls are great numbers of fishes fwimming together. The modern editors not being acquainted with the term, changed it into foals. My knowledge of this word is derived from a little book called The English Expofitor, London, printed by John Legatt, 1616. STEEVENS.

the ftrawy Greeks,] In the folio it is,
the fraying Greeks,-

JOHNSON.

Enter

Enter Ajax.

Ajax. Troilus! thou coward Troilus!
Dio. Ay, there, there.

Neft. So, fo, we draw together.

Enter Achilles.

Achil. Where is this Hector?

[Exit.

[Exeunt.

Come, come, thou boy-queller, fhew me thy face;
Know, what it is to meet Achilles angry.

Ajax. Troilus, thou coward Troilus, fhew thy head!

Enter Diomed.

Dio. Troilus, I fay! where's Troilus?
Ajax. What wouldst thou?

Dio. I would correct him.

Ajax. Were I the general, thou fhouldft have my

office,

Ere that correction. Troilus, I fay! what, Troilus!

Enter Troilus.

Troi. Oh, traitor, Diomed! turn thy falfe face,
thou traitor,

And pay thy life, thou owest me for my horse!
Dio. Ha! art thou there?

Ajax. I'll fight with him alone: ftand, Diomed.
Dio. He is my prize, I will not look upon.
Troi. Come both, you cogging Greeks, have at
[Exeunt, fighting.

you both.

-you cogging Greeks,-] This epithet has no particular propriety in this place, but the author had heard of Gracia Mendax. JOHNSON.

Surely the epithet had propriety in refpect of Diomed at least, who had defrauded him of his miftrefs. Troilus bestows it on both, unius ob culpam. STEEVENS.

Enter

Enter Hector.

Helt. Yea, Troilus? O well fought! my youngest brother!

Enter Achilles.

Achil. Now do I fee thee! ha! have at thee, Hector.

Helt. Pause, if thou wilt.

[Fight. Achil. I do difdain thy courtefy, proud Trojan.

Be happy that my arms are out of use:
My reft and negligence befriend thee now,
But thou anon fhall hear of me again;
Till when, go feek thy fortune.

Het. Fare thee well:

I would have been much more a frefher man,
Had I expected thee. How now, my brother?

Re-enter Troilus.

Troi. Ajax hath ta'en Æneas. Shall it be? No, by the flame of yonder glorious heaven, He fhall not carry him: I'll be taken too, Or bring him off. Fate, hear me what I fay! I reck not, though thou end my life to-day. [Exit.

Enter one in armour.

Helt. Stand, ftand, thou Greek, thou art a goodly

mark:

No? wilt thou not? I like thy armour well;

2

I'll

I like thy armour well;] This circumftance is taken

from Lidgate's poem, page 196..

Guido in this hiftorie doth fhew

"By worthy Hector's fall, who coveting

"To have the fumptuous armor of that king, &c.

3 I'll frufh it, and unlock the rivets all,

But I'll be mafter of it. Wilt thou not, beast, abide ? Why then, fly on, I'll hunt thee for thy hide.

[Exit.

Achil. Come here about me, you my Myrmidons. Mark what I fay. Attend me where I wheel: Strike not a ftroke, but keep yourselves in breath; And when I have the bloody Hector found, Empale him with your weapons round about; In felleft manner execute your arms. Follow me, Sirs, and my proceedings eye: It is decreed, Hector the great must die.

"So greedy was thereof, that when he had "The body up, and on his horse it bare,

[Exeunt.

"To have the fpoil thereof fuch hafte he made
"That he did hang his fhield without all care
"Behind him at his back, the easier

"To pull the armour off at his defire,

"And by that means his breast clean open lay," &c. This furnished Shakespeare with the hint for the following line: I am unarm'd, forego this vantage, Greek. STEEV. 3 I'll frush it, -] The word fruh I never found elfewhere, nor understand it. HANMER explains it, to break or bruife. JOHNSON.

To frufh a chicken, is a term in carving. I am indebted for this information to E. Smith's Compleat Hufwife, published in 1741. Holinfhed, defcribing the foldiers of Richmond, making themfelves ready, fays, they bent their bows, and frushed their feathers." Of the word frush in this laft inftance, I know not the exact meaning. STEEVENS.

SCENE